A Brazilian man who called his son Adolf has been forced to cover up the huge swastika on the bottom of his swimming pool after prosecutors started an investigation.

Wealthy history teacher Wandercy Pugliesi’s admiration for the Nazis was exposed when police were carrying out a search as part of a kidnapping case using a helicopter.

While carrying out the investigation, officers spotted the offensive symbol at the bottom of the huge swimming pool in the municipality of Pomerode in the southern state of Santa Catarina.

The snap shows how the pool, together with its surroundings, resembles the flag of the German Reich in use from 1935 to 1945.

Pomerode, where the property is located, has been dubbed the “most German city in Brazil”, given the majority of its residents are of German descent, with an estimated 90 percent fluent in German or East Pomeranian, which is a Low German dialect.

At the time, the police decided not to take any action as the swastika was on private land and the owner could therefore not be accused of promoting Nazism.

However, the Brazilian Israelite Confederation complained about the lack of action and denounced Pugliesi, prompting the state public prosecution service to order him to either remove or alter the swastika or face action.

The public prosecution has since confirmed it has closed the case after Pugliesi provided evidence that he had altered the design, joining up the swastika so it resembles a square with a cross through it.

However, photos still show tiles around the swimming area depicting a row of swastikas, which Pugliesi presumably did not have to change, given they are joined up.

According to reports, Pugliesi had once put himself forward as a candidate for councillor in Pomerode. However, the centre-right Liberal Party for which he was running expelled him because of his Nazi swimming pool and his admiration for the Third Reich.

It was also revealed that his admiration went beyond just having a swastika in his swimming pool, as he also owned Nazi-themed items including photographs, paintings, books and t-shirts, which were confiscated from his home in the 1990s.

He fought a legal battle to get them back, claiming he was not a Nazi apologist – despite naming his son Adolf – and that they were merely for study, an explanation that was dismissed by the court at the time.